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Think about TV ads. Analyze. Ask questions. |
Consider these ideas for your own compositions. |
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| WHAT
IS THE BASIC STRUCTURE?
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WHAT
IS YOUR BASIC STRUCTURE?
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All compositions have a basic structure, an overall organization of parts, a form. Anything put together in an orderly fashion has a structure determined by its purpose: form follows function. In all human arts and crafts, people have developed and transmitted many common structures appropriate to certain situations and purposes. Predictable patterns exist. Models help us grasp large concepts and whole blocks of information quickly. For example, for over 2,000 years in our culture, the model of the "classical oration" has been the basic format for composing the rational argument: the introduction, the thesis and division, the proofs (arguments pro and con), the summary, and the plea. Yet, persuasion can be either rational (logical arguments) or nonrational, including emotional appeals, and even (as Aristotle termed them) "non-artistic" means such as force, violence, bribery, blackmail, and sexual favors. Commercial advertising is a form of persuasion, but most ads are usually not rational arguments trying to convince us of validity. Most ads use nonrational techniques, such as repetition, emotional associations, and "image building." Ads often implicitly suggest more than they explicitly state. To better understand this kind of
persuasion, here's a simple "fingertip formula" -- a 5-part
model focusing on these key elements of most ads
-- "the pitch." Be aware of this pattern of "the pitch" to become more conscious of the "invisible" structural framework implied underneath such nonrational persuasion. For now, your attention should be on the overall structure: the form of ads, not their content.
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Whenever you encounter a big writing task, it's normal to feel confused by the great amount of available information, by your own shifting focus, and by your many options. Structuring can be seen as a transforming process as you go from chaos to order, from the randomness of "inner speech" to the orderliness of the written word, from the massive amounts of available information and possible choices to those which are actually selected and used. When you write, you are either going to impose a structure (consciously or not) or be chaotic. Many people "get by" with an unconscious structuring, but this is really using general advice from their past without thinking if it's really appropriate to the present purpose and situation. You can improve your control in writing by a conscious awareness and a deliberate choice of structure. You, as the writer, impose the structure on your material. But, often you can select from among traditional, commonly used structures which are appropriate to certain purposes and situations. You don't have to start from zero, reinvent the wheel. Just as we inherit the words in our language, so also we inherit the many common patterns which writers have used in the past. The "classical oration" used in rational argument is one such pattern. Another one, commonly studied in literature classes, is the basic pattern of narration as used in analyzing drama and fiction: introduction (to the conflict), complication (incidents of movement, rising action, suspense as to which side will win), climax (the resolution of the conflict), and, sometimes, the denouement (a brief wrap-up explanation). Composition textbooks offer many useful structures for expository writing. Texts will vary, stressing different ones. But, the basic principles are the same: structure is very important, and form follows function. However, as writers, we often get so involved in our content, or subject matter, that we ignore our form. Early in the process, think structure!
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| | Welcome | Purpose | Audience | Limits | Structure | Attention | Confidence | Explicit | Implicit | Response| Omission | |
